Uncreated Conscience

This morning I got up early for a run, discovered it was 16 degrees outside, and then decided not to go. The rule of thumb is to dress as though it’s 20 degrees warmer outside. I’m sorry, but there is a WORLD of difference between 16 degrees and 36 degrees. Once it gets below freezing, the air burns my bronchial tract and I spend the rest of the morning coughing cold air out of my lungs.

But that has nothing to do with what I wanted to discuss today, which is the last installment of my Literary Crush series. (A wee bit delayed, I know.) You’ve probably all guessed by now what sort of character this post will be about. I’ve only written about this type a million times before.

David Xanatos, or a fine example of the Magnificent Bastard.

You’ve all heard me crush on this character a million times, who is perhaps best summed up as The Magnificent Bastard. There are many incarnations: Benjamin Linus, Melisande Shahrizai, Gaius Baltar, Mrs. Coulter. In many ways, I feel I don’t need to explain the character to you again: The Magnificent Bastard is a person who usually does despicable things, but all in accordance with his/her own unique, but deeply held honor code.

(more…)

Last week I eavesdropped on a Scribechat discussion on Twitter about developing and creating real and believable characters. It got me thinking about characters I’ve known and loved and what attracts me to a character in the books I read and the submissions I receive. It’s a pretty broad topic, but I hope to spend this week distilling it into slightly more palatable sizes.

Benjamin Linus: villain, antagonist, redeemed hero? Whatever, he's one of my favourite characters EVER.

What makes a great character? There are a lot of factors that go into a wonderful character, but for me, the answer is a character who makes me want to give him/her a hug and slap him/her upside the head…at the same time. I want a character who infuriates me as much as s/he delights me; in short, someone I can’t forget about once I shut the pages.

(more…)

Diana Peterfreund wrote an awesome blog post today about Bad Boys vs. Nice Guys (part I of more to come) in fiction. In addition to being an interesting examination of the appeal of the Bad Boy, it’s also a defense of the Nice Guy.

The Ultimate Nice Guy

Peterfreund brings up some really great points, including how the Nice Guy seems to be much more palatable as the protagonist rather than as the romantic lead. When seen as the Everyman, the Nice Guy suddenly becomes our proxy: the underdog, the ordinary fellow reaching for his dreams. She cites Lloyd Dobbler from Say Anything as a film example. Take your pick of John Green’s protagonists for a literary example.

However, when viewed through a romantic lens, the Nice Guy seems to fall short compared to the Bad Boy. Why? Is it because he’s considered “weak”? (Whatever that means.) Harmless? Boring?

(more…)

Happy Bloomsday, everyone! I would give ULYSSES a read-through today, except my friend Kristine has my copy and my other one is so destroyed it has literally fallen apart at the seams. No matter, for I am rereading CATCHING FIRE more slowly this time around (to savour the small details), and Kristine introduced me to this video:

It’s the end that slays me.

Oh, and because they need to be shared again: James Joyce’s EXTREMELY dirty letters to Nora Barnacle.

Those who know me and Bear know that I have excellent taste in romantic partners but unfortunately, my discerning judgment doesn’t extend to television shows. I have had deplorable luck with the two to which I’ve been (slavishly) faithful: first The X-Files and now Lost. I have come to hate both shows in ways I could never even begin to dream, yet I kept watching them to the bitter end. Lost, of course, is not yet finished and rest assured, I will stick this relationship out (because I am monogamous, apparently), but I simply cannot stand it anymore. I have been manipulated and confused so many times that I’ve essentially given up.

When I first started watching Lost, the relationship had been new and intriguing and mysterious. A number of seemingly unrelated persons crashland on a deserted island which may or may not be in the South Pacific. But what? There are hints that maybe the island isn’t deserted after all, that maybe there’s a vast conspiracy, and there’s simply mystery after mystery after mystery to be solved.

(The first season still kicks all the other seasons to the curb.)

(more…)

Clearly Ben is the perfect man.

He has my copy of ULYSSES.

My mother is adorable. She’s coming into town next week on business and promised to bring with her the Korean drama (그들이 사는 세상 – The World That They Live In) we started back when I visiting my family in Los Angeles featuring my favourite actress Song Hye Gyo (송혜교). My other also recommended one called The Beethoven Virus in an email the other day.

Hey Sarah,

It was good to talk to you.
Check out the link: here

I love this drama!!
Talk to you later this week.

Love,
Mom

Oh Mum, with her multiple exclamation points and recent discovery of YouTube. My parents might be technologically inept, but they try to keep abreast of the times. (You wouldn’t believe the flurry of texts I got from “ur teenage dad” once my brother taught him to how text message people.) “The main guy isn’t that good-looking,” she warned about The Beethoven Virus, “But he’s a very good actor.”

(more…)

I am so easily amused by the silliest things. I must have the brain of a five-year-old.

Courtesy of Shoom’Lah‘s journal and found via Buttfacemakani:

I’m not sure why I love Ben so much, but I do. I’m not sure why I like the evil characters, the creeptastic weirdos, or pretty much anyone but the noble, kind, and good hero. Even if he does make hilarious Jackfaces. (Best ever? The “You can’t come, Kate” Jackface.)

(more…)